FBoy? F, Hi. Again!

After being unceremoniously axed by MAX in 2022, our favorite, innovative reality dating show has made a moderately triumphant comeback. “FBoy Island,” a show from the creative brain of former “Bachelor” EP Elan Gale, just wrapped up its third season on The CW, and boy do we have thoughts.

First, there’s the good. We’ve been “FBoy Island” devotees since its first season in 2021. Instead of prioritizing constructed drama, “FBoy Island” prioritizes comedy and narrative. Comedian Nikki Glaser is back as the host (thank god!), and this season remained full of cheeky moments — moments that make you feel like the cast is all in on the joke, rather than the butt of it.

Season 3 also gives us a new archetype of the leading lady in Katie Thurston, the former Bachelorette who never seemed to quite fit into the typical box occupied by reality dating show stars. (And we mean that in the very best of ways.) Most women who are cast on “FBoy Island” are unknowns in the reality TV world with a lengthy history of dating FBoys. Katie is the exact opposite: already famous, and very much into Nice Guys. No man is too corny for our gal Katie. It was a delight to watch a lead take such a different path this season, and fun to see Katie come back to reality TV decidedly more relaxed and self-assured.

And yet… some of the magic was definitely lost as the show moved from a cable streaming service over to a network. We lost some of the racier jokes, the format got more streamlined, and most tragically, we stopped following the men once they got eliminated. Instead of an FBoy rehabilitation program in Limbro, we got… nothing. The arcs of those eliminated characters just ended. In short, it felt more like any other episodic reality dating show, whereas before it felt like watching one long carefully crafted movie that encompassed a whole world.

At the end of the day, we’d rather have a slightly neutered “FBoy Island” than no “FBoy Island” at all, but we’ll always miss the magic of those first two glorious seasons.

We get into all of this and more during this week’s episode. Hope you enjoy! Xo

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